Pacific Regiment Booth Ideas

[PerniciousDuke]

UPDATE- the build log for this can be found here:

Props - Recruitment Booth Build (Pacific Regiment)

I've got to give hats off again to Asgardianhammer . It's people like you that remind me how lazy I am! How I go home after work and just play video games. You're a super active Division Identity Officer, active Regiment Commander, community organizer, scout leader, dad, employed, and you still...

www.405th.com

Ever since Asgardianhammer posted his wonderful creation on here, I know many of you have had been rolling the idea over in your head, "Why can't we have that?" Well, we can. I am going to make it.

But, I want all those ideas rolling around your head on how we can make it the best it can be! Asgardian has paved the way. Let us build upon his idea and make it special to the Pacific Regiment as well.

For those of you that need a refresher this is his creation (link above).




What are some things you could suggest? Really anything, big or small, design or functionality. The final decision will come down to those spending money and significant time into its construction because they will know what they can afford.

Here's an idea of something to the design: mblackwell1002 thinks the weapon rack could utilize some more halo aesthetics. He's proposing adding a weapon rack like the one below. Together we'll flush out the idea and see if it can stick.


Here's an idea of something to the functionality: I'd like to have space behind the monitor to put up a whiteboard. This will allow us to leave information for each other at conventions, such as upcoming photoshoot times, contest times, group meals, etc.


Aesthetics Ideas:
New weapon rack
Inifinity Table
Mesh Shelves
405th/UNSC Flag
Light-up AI figure
More recesses with chamfers


Functionality Ideas:
Whiteboard and room for event programs
Fireproof
Sheet metal with holes for shelves
Wheels on the main box
built-in card/flyer holders
Mic on PC to use Cortana interface

Future Purchases:
miniprojector for backdrop
End of day cover
custom printed cardboard boxes

 

[mblackwell1002]

More specifically, 343's aesthetics. I think Asgardianhammer was shooting more towards the H2 aesthetic.

I think we could play some in-game stuff to pick up some reference images and get some ideas. Remember that level in H4 where you're about to pilot a heavy pelican, but you're left to explore a vehicle bay for a bit? I think it would be a good idea to load up that mission, as there are a bunch of crates, weapon racks, and stuff of that variety. There was also that mission in H5 in the Liang Dortmund facility thing, the dudes who own some pirated UNSC stuff, so the aesthetic is the same.

Might be worth a look, I might take some screenshots this weekend of viable projects.

 

[PerniciousDuke]

I'm down to hop in whenever, just shoot me a time.

mblackwell1002 Thanks for clarifying on the H2 vs 343 aesthetics. That makes more sense.

the reason that I like the idea is that it could bring more light into the weapon rack. If say we moved the small shelves to the left, make them floating (no wall on the right) maybe use them for helmets, and then had the weapon rack on the right we wouldn't need a top or right side to the box which would give more light to the pieces on display.
Here's an example:

 

[mblackwell1002]

Alright. Tomorrow MCC at 5:00 for screenshots and such? We can discuss in more detail then.

 

[Asgardianhammer]

I really like the idea of your weapon rack guys. It seems lighter and more open to visibility as well so folks cant take stuff. I do a lot of tradeshows and as such here are a couple of points to think about:
1. Make it easy to transport. This setup literally all fits in the front cabinet and can be wheeled in in one go on a furniture dolly.
2. Setup should take no more than about 20mins. with the most minimal of tools. For this i actually used threaded inserts in all my parts and used t-handled machine screws - so no tools whatsoever.
3. The top portions i had made from Cardboard for weight. probably not the best medium and will revisit in the near future.
4. I planned this to maximize material use. Also consider storage. This all for the most parts folds flat.

You are all on the right track! I wish i could have made an easy environment that felt like you were on board the infinity or around the OPS table.

 

[FANGS]

The best advice that I can give you guys is whatever you build needs to above all things, fire retardant. Have a look at the requirements - take photos of the stuff you use to treat it and have a sample to keep at the booth so that the fire department can burn test it.

As well, as Asgardianhammer has said, storage is also a big consideration so the more it breaks down, the better.

We've found with our 501st booths that creating "flats" (walls with legs behind that are weighted down with cement blocks) are the easiest to store and to arrange in a lot of different booth shapes and sizes. I can post photos of what we've done to give you some ideas.

 

[Asgardianhammer]

For Sure. There are is a product you can buy called Flame Stop II. This is a thin watery material you can spray on everything that will help with this issue. Flame Stop is recommended by Fire Marshals for museums etc. A single gallon of that goes a long way. Other materials to consider other than the plywood i used is Starboard and Sintra. Starboard is pricy but will take a beating. Sintra is fairly lightweight, lots of different thicknesses, and can be milled easily and available in a variety of colors and can be painted as well.

 

[Asgardianhammer]

We also often post the entire event schedule and map behind our booth so that we can help people find things. There is always someone needing help finding places and event times.

 

[PerniciousDuke]

Great advice. Thank you! Keep them coming!

A friend of mine Maverick206 has made two suggestions. He thought it would be cool to make an "infinity table" something I will have to youtube. Also suggested instead of printing an image for a backdrop possibly buying a miniprojector so that we can change the backdrop image.

Okay yeah, Infinity table is awesome! I hope we can figure out how to tie this in with the theme.

He's got a third one too. For the shelves using a material with holes in it to allow even more light in. Something like sheet metal with holes.

I've also been wanting to incorporate wheels into the design. They would need to be large to make it over doorways and cables. It would eliminate the need for the dolly and we could have a "skirt" that hides the wheels once set up.

 

[FANGS]

Okay so here's the biggest booth we've put together. Each panel is it's own flat - except for the Docking Bay doorway which is in three pieces with the backdrop behind it. The black and red Imperial Cog banners were printed really easily and fairly cheaply (a 50% off sale) at Vista Print. We made the stanchions (with Death Stars attached to the tops) The graphics on the black towers are all done with vinyl and the weapons were secured to the pegboard using zip ties. The flags going to the docking station.....take note of one that they added for me.....hehehehe



The one issue we had with spraying the fire retardant spray was that it left white streaks on the black in places. Just something to keep in mind.

I see in one of the photos that you can see exposed wood - that tower just wasn't completed before I took the photo. As well we had another costume display that wasn't photographed.

In this set up we had two photo booth spots - one in front of the docking station and one in front of the Death Star walls. That proved problematic as they were too close together and lines got mungled.

We always have a charity with us - usually something involving children (Make a Wish, Kids with Cancer Society etc.). Never, ever, EVER collect money on your own. Ever. Never. Not ever. Too much room for things to go totally sideways. If the charity cannot send people to be there to collect the money, then you don't raise funds. Might be an opportunity to have people bring in non-perishable food items or something instead so long as someone is willing to drop that off with the Food Bank. But, I digress.

The tables around the tower with the weapons served to hold information brochures for both us and the charity as well as the donation box. Also, during some of the times, a member sat behind the table and worked on costume parts to demonstrate how we do things. At this event, it was leather working - he made some Tusken Raider ammo belts/pouches. The stage was going to be for doing demos etc. but it was so loud where we were, it just didn't work right. So we used it as a place to show people how we travel with our gear which worked great to get some of those big gear boxes out of the change room.

Yesss....change room. In bygone years when the con was small, they were able to get us a room to change in and take breaks in. Those years are long, long gone. But they do very kindly give us extra booth space so we can have a change space on the showroom floor. We have all kinds of rules for this stuff so if you ever need to know anything about that, let me know. You have to keep a tight reign or those change spaces become disaster zones quickly.

The 501st doesn't typically pay for booth space. Usually we pay for power though. I don't expect that to be the case for the 405th just yet but it will come. Always ask about fan tables as some cons have free tables for groups like ours. And as well, I'd be more than happy to talk to any event organizers about what we are and do to assist in getting a comp'd table. But please keep in mind that these conventions are a business and if they cannot afford to give us a free table, we need to be cool about that. Also, the more value we add to the con, the more important it is to a con to have us there and the more willing they are to perhaps do things for us. Again, I can totally talk about this if you need me to

 

[PerniciousDuke]

Those seem more like photo booths, which is an awesome idea, but I don't think we're there yet. Nor could I afford to do on my own. The recruitment booth would be more like your black pegboard, but I really want it to capture the attention and anchor people so they stand around and talk with us. I do want a backdrop like Asgardian has, but I am worried about the cost to print.

 

[FANGS]

Yes...absolutely they are photobooths BUT it's the same principle. With that set up we could have two of the panels on their own behind a table in a small booth to having all of them out like in this set up but in different configurations. My point really is that if you're going to put the time and effort in to doing something it needs to be flexible for changing space shapes and sizes.

Backdrops are definitely expensive. Plus you have to consider that you aren't always going to have the means to hang a backdrop depending on how the con is draped. Years ago I ended up buying to light stands that connected with a bar to hang ours from because some of the smaller cons didn't have tall draping behind the booths. Again, flexibility. The table draping in the photos is mine that I got off of Amazon. It's a quick easy way to make your booth look clean and professional even if you only have a couple of helmets displayed and some brochures.

You guys should have a banner in your area. Someone has it. But if it's no longer accessible, and we need to get you a new one, we can absolutely do that. Banners are often easier to be able to hang than a full back drop.

 

[FANGS]

In comparison - here's a booth from 8 years ago?



This con had no table skirting so we had our own. Also, no back draping so again, we had our own. Really the goal is to make your booth, whatever it has and whatever it's purpose, to look as professional as your costumes do. It doesn't have to be anywhere near the level of what we're at now. It took us a long time to get to that point. But seeing what can be done is always good. That group is no different than this one. Everything is paid for by members, stored by members and built by members. None of us have exceptional carpentry skills - in fact that booth is built in large part by 4 women and 2 men with only 2 of them with any real set building experience. But whether the set is huge and multipieced or small and a single item - it's all the same. Needs to break down for storage and transportation, needs to have someone willing to store it, needs to be funded by members, needs to be fire retardant to comply with fire marshall rules and it needs to project a professional image.

 

[PerniciousDuke]

But whether the set is huge and multipieced or small and a single item - it's all the same. Needs to break down for storage and transportation, needs to have someone willing to store it, needs to be funded by members, needs to be fire retardant to comply with fire marshall rules and it needs to project a professional image.

I think those are things we can handle. Thanks for the advice! Adjustability for space is definitely something to keep in mind. I was under the impression that booth space if often standardized between cons, but it makes sense if it can vary.

 

[Asgardianhammer]

I tried to go no higher than 8 feet and keep everything where it can fit within a 10 foot width and then spread it out if the opportunity arises. Most booth spaces are 10x10. Also we have not paid for any space as we have strictly been fan tables. We have also kept our items to minimal installation that can be done in 20 mins or less. The drop I have is on a tradeshow pole assembly that is bagged with lights. i am fortunate enough to be able to borrow this from my work. I can possibly help you get a backdrop printed at cost plus a little extra from my jobs large format shop that I run. You should account for Gear Boxes though. Those have been the biggest space suck. Also it is a good idea to keep black sheets so that at the end of the day you can cover your entire booth. Don't leave anything however you do not feel comfortable leaving. This is a typical tradeshow practice and conveys to security staff if something has been messed with.

 

[PerniciousDuke]

We're getting close to being able to build this bad boy.

I still want to get more ideas from regiment members. I know many of us are visual so here is a template that you can modify with design ideas. I like the idea of it having three sections. A booth to recruit, a table to sit at and a rack to hold weapons and props. There also needs to be room to hold at least 3 helmets.

Here is the same template modified to resemble Asgardian's booth as an example for how you can modify the previous template.


I'll be working on my mock up today. I look forward to seeing yours!

 

[FANGS]

Gear boxes are the WORST. The way we generally handle it in the 501st is to only allow those with booth shifts that day to store 1 gear box. Otherwise it gets way out of hand quickly. Another option we've done is to have the gear boxes as part of the display to show people what it takes to move our gear around. Of course, you'd want to display nice looking bins etc. As well, keep in mind that you need storage for the booth stuff itself. Extra colouring books and cards etc. For part of our 501st sets we've painted bins to match the set and look like they belong. These make great locations to store extra booth stuff as well as people's small items like coats or bags etc.

As for what to do at a booth, that's a little fluid depending on the crowd itself. On the FB page a raffle was suggested. As I mentioned there, we really need to avoid these. There are too many things that need to be looked in to and problems that can occur to make them at all worthwhile. Most cons have a rule about them. Most areas have laws about them that require you to purchase a licence etc. etc. etc. But there are lots of other things you can do to attract people to your booth. Having people working on items in the booth is often helpful. People love to see that. Just watch that it's none of the messy parts. You don't want to disturb your neighbours with sanding dust or loud noises or paint stink. Plus you don't want to damage your booth or the con floor and linens. People will also very much want to get photos with members or with the gear on the mannequin so keep that in mind when you set up. You want to make sure that it's in a location that people can get far enough back to photograph.

Having items to show people the difference between foam and pep and cast or vac formed pieces is also very helpful. Most people assume these costumes are well beyond their skill level, so you get to teach them that it is not. You can also get a member geared up in the booth. Show people how the armor is rigged and what it takes to get in and out of it. Post up a notice of a time or times that will happen so they can plan on coming back for it. People LOVE to see the inside of things. Love, love, love. I would watch actually handing people props unless you are confident it won't break if dropped but showing people how things are done are always a big draw.

 

[PerniciousDuke]

Great comments FANGS

A raffle is not part of the plan. I'm more concerned about how to build the box than what to do at it. But, sometimes you have to think about what you want to do so that you know what you need to have. I really like the idea of a "schedule" for when cosplayers could be stationed for closer inspection by the public. This would need to be fluid as the plans will often form the morning of the event. So maybe a small whiteboard somewhere visible.

The storage portion will be primarily for me. I plan of having a big ol sign right next to the cubby say "not responsible for lost or damaged property." It will mostly be for the flyers or bags to transport my stuff.

The stuff itself will be constantly changing. I don't have enough props to fill it, but I will probably bring some extra boomco stuff or action figures just in case. Everything will be tied down with good sized zip ties. With many more on hand. I let one person hold my shotgun and they made me drop it while handing it back so yeah, not gonna happen. But members are free to do what they want with their stuff.


Here is what I've come up with so far. The only thing I'm not happy with is the big box on the right. I like the shape, but I don't know what content to put on it. The booth is going to be grey themed like much of the Halo environment, still planning that part out.

The box on the lower right is hollow. Everything else (including the lower skirt for that box) will fold up flat and stand up in that box. The box will be sized according to the thickness of all the other material pieces. The box is then on its own wheel and can be hauled away!

 

[FANGS]

Guys! See this stuff? This is your Regiment Staff working HARD for you. Please, please, PLEASE chime in with your ideas and more importantly, jump in with your help to build and man the booth!

If you're able, showing a Boomco prop before and after paint and weathering is a really fantastic way of showing people that great props don't necessarily have to be really hard or really expensive!

Chris you're doing a fantastic job and I can't wait to see it all come together

 

[PerniciousDuke]

I'd hardly call it working. I'm just having some fun. But, thank you for the compliment. I would love more local input, either here or on Facebook, so yes please chime in. Construction isn't for two months, but I need to start procuring materials now.